Korea JoongAng Daily - Daily News from Korea

This article is by Lee Jae-lim and read by an artificial voice.

After soaring nearly fivefold in a year thanks to explosive demand for advanced memory chips, Samsung Electronics is now facing some cautious calls from both local and foreign securities firms, with analysts lowering ratings and target prices.

At the heart of the concern is costs. Samsung's union is demanding that 15 percent of annual operating profit be distributed as employee bonuses — a figure that, applied to FnGuide's 2026 consensus estimate of 340 trillion won ($235 billion) in operating profit, would translate to roughly 47.6 trillion won in bonus payouts.

The high-stakes labor dispute at Samsung has drawn intervention at the highest levels. Korea's president, lawmakers, Samsung's board chairman and its co-CEOs have all waded into the standoff in an effort to defuse tensions. Meanwhile, friction is growing within the union itself, as workers in the semiconductor division and those in other business units clash over how profits should be shared.

Rather than treating it as a structural risk, several reports have trimmed their target prices on the premise that the company's hefty bonus commitments will inevitably eat into operating profits over the remaining three quarters.

Shares in the Suwon, Gyeonggi-based chipmaker rose 2.07 percent to close at 271,500 won on Thursday, a day after surging 14.41 percent to a historic high that pushed Samsung's market capitalization past $1 trillion, making it only the second Asian company to cross that threshold after Taiwan's TSMC.

Financial burden after bonus payout

Citi Research was the first brokerage to cut its target price, trimming it by 6.25 percent to 300,000 won while maintaining a buy rating. The firm cited earnings downside from bonus provisions, conservatively estimating that 10 percent of annual operating profit — in line with SK hynix's precedent — would be distributed as employee compensation, pressuring profit figures in 2026 and 2027.

"We can reasonably predict that the company will move forward with provisioning," said Peter Lee, managing director at Citi Research. "Since nothing was set aside in the first quarter, they would need to cover a full year's worth across the remaining three quarters, and that figure could be larger than what the market expects, with a more meaningful drag on quarterly earnings than people are currently pricing in."

Factoring in those additional costs, Citi revised its 2026 and 2027 operating profit estimates down by 10 and 11 percent, respectively, to 306.3 trillion won and 351.7 trillion won.

Labor relations have historically never been a serious risk factor at Samsung, a company not typically associated with public industrial disputes. But SK hynix's decision to distribute 10 percent of annual operating profit as employee bonuses has stirred frustration among Samsung workers, who believe they deserve comparable treatment — or better. The National Samsung Electronics Union (NSEU) is demanding that the threshold be set at 15 percent of total annual operating profit, and has declared an 18-day strike running from May 21 to June 7.

Domestic analysts, however, view the target price impact as purely numerical — a function of how management and labor ultimately structure the bonus agreement — rather than a meaningful threat to chip production.

Ko Young-min, an analyst at Daol Investment & Securities, raised his target price to 390,000 won, citing continued strength in memory prices and upward earnings revisions. The brokerage lifted its 2026 annual operating profit estimate to 366.1 trillion won and also pointed to a favorable contracting environment for memory suppliers to secure long-term supply agreements of up to five years.

Samsung Electronics said at its April earnings call that it had already signed such deals with several customers and that the agreements were more binding than in the past, when contracts rarely lasted a year, and clients largely dictated terms.

"A rec...

This article is by Woo Ji-won and read by an artificial voice.

[INTERVIEW]

A wave crashed against the shore strongly enough to make even seasoned haenyeo, Korea's traditional female free divers, hesitate — and that's when Kylie Genter realized just how dangerous her new job could be.

"[A more experienced haenyeo] looked at me, and I could see that she was scared, and that made me scared because they are usually like, 'It's fine. Don't worry.' They're very tough," said Genter, a registered haenyeo of Jeju Island, during a video interview with the Korea JoongAng Daily.

For centuries, haenyeo have plunged into the sea — up to 10 meters (32.8 feet) deep without an oxygen mask — to harvest seafood, such as abalone, conch and seaweed, for a living. In Yeongrak-ri, a village on the west coast of Jeju, the tradition lives on through 16 divers, comprising 10 veterans and six newly registered divers, including Genter.

The culture of Jeju's haenyeo — a Unesco Intangible Cultural Heritage — faces severe challenges surrounding its preservation. The number of haenyeo is rapidly dwindling, falling to 2,371 as of 2025, nearly half the figure from a decade ago, and more than 60 percent of the remaining divers are in their 70s. At such a time, the arrival of 36-year-old Genter is welcome.

"I think, at first, [the other haenyeo] didn't really know what to do with me. They were kind of like, 'Why is she here?'"

A flash of blonde among older local divers drew attention not only within the group but also from residents.

"[Passersby] see us walking, and they usually kind of say under their breath, 'There must be a haenyeo experiential activity,' and [...] are usually kind of surprised."

But a wetsuit wasn't something that Genter herself expected to wear just a few years ago.

"I didn't really know much about Korea to be honest," said Genter, who came to the country in 2012. "I had a hard time finding a job because of the economy in the [United] States. [...] I was feeling very stressed, and I called my mother and said, 'Oh, America hates me. I'm going to leave.'"

After graduating with a degree in communication, she set out to find a teaching job and ended up in Korea. She taught English for four years in Jinju, South Gyeongsang, before relocating to Jeju, where she worked as a tour guide.

Even then, she did not imagine herself becoming one. "I did not think, 'Oh, I could really become a haenyeo,' because I didn't think that could be possible for a foreigner."

That seemed true for a while. When Genter heard that Yeongrak-ri was searching for younger divers to offset its rapidly aging work force — a challenge shared by many villages — she expressed her interest in joining the crew.

The answer came quickly: No.

"But one month later, [the fishing village cooperative] contacted me again and said, 'Let's do an interview.' And then from January of 2024, I started to dive."

Thankfully, the community was supportive, and Genter earned her certification last month.

Even so, her case is unusual. In many villages, outsiders struggle to be accepted as haenyeo, as some require candidates to have lived in the community for years. Many also prefer long-term residents to ensure that they will continue working as a diver. For Genter, a spouse visa through her Korean husband helped signal that commitment.

Her life as a haenyeo now follows a set routine. A typical day begins around 9:30 a.m., with divers working in cycles — one week diving, then one week resting — though their schedules often depend on the weather. The diving season typically runs from October to May for her village, when conch is in harvest.

"But as time goes by, we enter the water later because we want to get out at low tide to make it easier for us. [...] I try to be one hour early to dive because we have to get our suits ready."

The group walks together about a kilometer (0.62 miles) to the sea, where they spend about three to four hours underwater on good days and less when conditions are rou...

This article is by Fergus Goodall Smith, Park Eun-jee and read by an artificial voice.

The rise of AI is taking a toll on one of the most common gateways to Korea for many foreigners: teaching English, with a decline in foreigners coming over for such work evidence of a dramatic shift in a country known for underscoring the importance of English education.

The number of E-2 Foreign Language Instructor visas issued totaled 1,286 people in the first quarter of the year, hitting a six-year low as it dropped by 47.47 percent compared to 2020, before the Covid-19 pandemic, when the figure stood at 2,448 in the first three months. The statistics, acquired from the Ministry of Justice by the Korea JoongAng Daily, show that E-2 recipients have nearly halved in a consistently downward trend.

The visa draws on foreigners from the United States, Britain, Australia, New Zealand and several other English-speaking countries.

The rise of online tools powered by AI that let users learn independently has effectively eaten up demand for teachers from cram schools. Improvements in instantaneous translation technology, which is also AI-powered, are shifting people's perceptions, with English skills being seen as less critical in landing a job.

Kim Jae-woo, an English instructor who authored the best-selling book "Kim Jae-woo's 100 Essential Verbs," says that AI language tools are having a significant impact on jobs.

"Demand for native English teachers has clearly declined. Tools like ChatGPT are increasingly replacing parts of their role, while apps such as Speak have become widely used among learners."

Kim says the effect is felt most at academies.

"The shift has taken a toll on offline English academies. Many have shut down, with the market shrinking to about one-10th of its former size. Today, aside from exam-focused institutes, it has become difficult for traditional language schools to survive. Instead, learners are turning to online lectures and mobile apps."

Demographics play a major role in attitudes toward AI as a tool to learn English, Kim says.

"The trend differs by generation. Younger people show less demand for English education — not because they are already good at it, but because many stop after achieving practical goals, such as standardized test scores like the Toeic [Test of English for International Communication], and are reluctant to invest further time and resources."

"By contrast, demand is strongest among people in their 40s to 60s. Many in this group are less familiar with AI tools like ChatGPT, sustaining demand for more traditional forms of learning."

Speak, an AI-powered language-learning app, was Google Play's top app of 2024 in Korea as well as in Hong Kong and Taiwan. There are currently 315,990 active users in Korea as of March of this year.

The app allows the user to converse with an AI chatbot as if they were talking to another human. The ability to learn through conversation without the awkwardness and fear of mistakes makes it an attractive option for young, novice learners. According to Speak, users spoke a total of 3.74 billion lines to their AI tutors last year, a 111 percent increase from 2024.

Duolingo has also started incorporating AI into its courses. "AI plays a central role" in the learning experience, said a Duolingo spokesperson, "making lessons more personalized, varied and enjoyable, and by keeping learners motivated to return."

The app's AI engine processes over 1.25 billion daily exercise responses, and then tailors them to each learner individually.

The spokesperson told the Korea JoongAng Daily that the vast majority of Korean users select English as their primary course.

Gwenna Finikin, president of Tesolanz, the New Zealand branch of the Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages certification for English teachers that opens doors to opportunities abroad, told the Korea JoongAng Daily that it was a very real possibility that AI could replace most English teachers.

"Yes, our roles ...

Shin Bok-ryong

The author is a former emeritus professor of history at Konkuk University.

Among the memorable historical films of the past was "Désirée" (1954), starring Jean Simmons and Marlon Brando. The film was based on the life of Désirée Clary (1777-1860), the first woman seriously loved by Napoleon Bonaparte (1769-1821) before he rose to power.

At age 23, Napoleon visited the home of his older brother Joseph and met Désirée, Joseph's sister-in-law. She was known not only for her beauty but also for the inheritance of 150,000 francs she possessed. Napoleon and Désirée became engaged, and their future together once appeared secure. But as Napoleon's political and military fortunes rose rapidly, Joséphine de Beauharnais (1763-1814) entered his life and eventually married him instead.

Désirée, heartbroken after experiencing love for the first time, reportedly fell into deep despair and even considered ending her life. After receiving her final letter, Napoleon regretted the pain he had caused her. Hoping to secure her future, he arranged her marriage to the ambitious General Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, later King Charles XIV John of Sweden (1763-1844).

Years later, when Bernadotte emerged as a candidate to inherit the Swedish throne, Napoleon actively supported him. Yet history took an ironic turn. After becoming king, Bernadotte aligned Sweden with Britain and joined efforts to defeat Napoleon. Napoleon was forced to abdicate and was exiled to Elba. One can only imagine the emotional conflict Désirée must have felt as her husband turned against the man she had once loved.

Even after Napoleon's downfall, their connection did not entirely disappear. When he was later exiled to Saint Helena following his final defeat, Désirée was said to be the last woman to visit him.

Many years later, Napoleon's nephew Louis-Napoléon became Emperor Napoleon III of France. By then, Désirée was living peacefully as queen of Sweden. Seeking to elevate his own authority through the legacy of his uncle, Napoleon III ordered the construction of Place Haussmann in Paris. Yet during the demolition of surrounding homes, one house was spared because Napoleon had once purchased it for Désirée.

Only after Désirée died at age 83 was the house finally demolished and the square completed. Today, as cities are repeatedly destroyed and rebuilt with little hesitation, the story of Désirée and Napoleon III serves as a reminder that careless officials, profit-driven developers and indifferent citizens can slowly erode cultural heritage.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

Chung Hyo-shik

The author is the social news editor at the JoongAng Ilbo.

Everyone wants to be the judge in their own case. That is precisely why no one can be. A fair courtroom cannot exist if either the plaintiff or defendant also serves as the judge. One side will inevitably feel wronged, and the constitutional principle of equality before the law collapses. That is the fundamental limit imposed by the rule of law. Yet political power, by its nature, repeatedly seeks to push beyond such limits.

The ruling Democratic Party bloc led by Jung Chung-rae appears emboldened by its expected victory in the June 3 local elections as it pushes forward a special counsel bill that would allow the withdrawal of indictments in cases involving President Lee Jae Myung and his close associates, including Jeong Jin-sang and Kim Yong. Meanwhile, the opposition People Power Party has failed to establish itself as an effective counterweight within the legislature. Even with elections approaching one year and seven months after the failed Dec. 3, 2024, martial law declaration, the conservative camp remains trapped in what critics call the lingering ghost of "Yoon Again." The opposition's prospects appear dim as it struggles to rebuild itself into a viable alternative force.

Judicial checks on the ruling party's legislative drive, carried out with the apparent sympathy of the presidential office, have also weakened considerably. On May 4, senior presidential secretary Hong Ik-pyo signaled a possible adjustment in the pace of the special counsel legislation while emphasizing that "a national consensus has formed." Earlier, when the so-called three judicial reform bills passed through the National Assembly and Cabinet meeting, there was little meaningful resistance from the judiciary itself.

Even current and former heads of the Constitutional Court, traditionally regarded as the final constitutional safeguard, reversed decades-long positions to support the measures. If the ruling bloc accelerates passage of the special counsel bill after the local elections, few constitutional institutions may remain capable of stopping it.

The bill itself reveals an unmistakable intention not merely to investigate allegations of prosecutorial misconduct during the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, but to halt ongoing trials involving the Daejang-dong development scandal, alleged illegal remittances to North Korea and election law violations. Article 6, Clause 1 of the bill grants special prosecutors authority over decisions regarding whether indictments should be maintained or withdrawn. Clause 2 further allows those powers to be delegated to assistant special prosecutors or attorneys appointed to maintain prosecutions.

The legislation even permits lawyers selected by the special counsel to withdraw indictments. Multiple layers of authority were intentionally built into the structure. Critics argue that this effectively neutralizes judicial authority, one of the Constitution's three branches of power, and therefore constitutes an unconstitutional provision.

The contradiction is striking. While arguing that concentrated prosecutorial authority is the root of many problems and moving to abolish the prosecution service for the first time in Korea's constitutional history, the government is simultaneously granting extraordinary powers to special counsels. Those powers include investigative and prosecutorial authority, plea bargaining benefits such as immunity for whistle-blowers and even the ability to terminate prosecutions already before the courts.

Even progressive groups such as the Justice Party and the Citizens' Coalition for Economic Justice have criticized provisions they say undermine judicial independence. Questions have also emerged over whether a massive special counsel investigation is truly necessary to examine allegations such as the so-called salmon and liquor party scandal. Existing institutions, including the Corruption Investigation Office for High-...

The author is a lawyer at the Disability Rights Law Center.

Last month, Korea's National Assembly passed the Act on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, formally writing the principle of deinstitutionalization into law. The measure recognizes the right of people with disabilities to live within their communities rather than in institutions, marking a policy shift away from viewing disabled individuals as objects of management and toward recognizing them as holders of rights.

In the postwar era and through rapid urbanization, community-based caregiving weakened, while institutional protection expanded to fill the gap. Institutions undoubtedly saved lives, but their operational structure was closer to efficient management than individualized care. People in need of assistance were gathered into one space, supervised and controlled in the name of protection.

The problem is that this system still functions as the default model. It is not simply because of limited budgets or resources. Few systems are as convenient for measuring visible outcomes as institutions. As a result, when Korea designs protection systems for vulnerable groups, institutions are often the first solution considered. People with disabilities, children and victims of crime are routinely sent to shelters or residential facilities.

What does this reality look like for children in ultralow birthrate Korea? In 2024, authorities identified 2,836 children in need of protection. Of those, 858 returned home or were placed with relatives, while 1,978 received protective measures. Among them, 1,583 children — about 80 percent — entered institutions. Even measured against the overall total, more than half ended up in facilities.

Because community-based alternatives remain insufficient, residential facilities for children remain overcrowded even in an era of declining births. For children requiring protection, institutions have become not the exception but the default option.

The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child defines institutional care as a last resort and emphasizes family- and community-based support as the guiding principle. Korea's child welfare system remains far from that standard.

At one policy discussion on deinstitutionalization for children, a senior official from the Ministry of Health and Welfare reportedly asked, "Children leave facilities once they become adults anyway, so why is deinstitutionalization necessary?" The remark revealed a perspective that views child protection largely as temporary separation and management.

Yet childhood is a continuous developmental process, and the environment in which a child spends each day has lasting effects into adulthood.

The current residential options available to children in need are largely limited to family homes or institutions. But many children fit into neither category. One middle school student whom the author once represented as a lawyer had been abandoned by her mother at a young age, while her father suffered from alcohol dependency. The child became the victim of sexual abuse by her father and was separated from him after reporting the crime.

But the child later experienced emotional abuse inside the facility where she was placed. Unable to return home, she repeatedly harmed herself in despair and was eventually admitted to a psychiatric hospital. Afterward, every institution refused to accept her. What she wanted was not extraordinary treatment but simply a safe place where she could be cared for. Yet the system offered no functioning option capable of meeting that need.

The problem extends beyond such cases. Children fleeing effectively collapsed or severely dysfunctional homes — often described as "youth outside the family" — have few realistic alternatives. Legally, minors can do very little independently. Securing stable housing or income is extremely difficult. Shelters also generally notify guardians when a child enters, creating another barrier for youths already afrai...

Inflation pressures stemming from the Middle East war are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. According to April consumer price data released Wednesday by the Ministry of Data and Statistics, prices rose 2.6 percent from a year earlier, marking the steepest increase in one year and nine months. Rising global oil prices were the primary driver, with petroleum products surging more than 20 percent.

There is growing concern that inflation could accelerate further after May. Strategic petroleum reserves and crude inventories, which had previously softened the impact of soaring oil prices, are reportedly nearing their limits in many countries. The Financial Times recently pointed to late May as a possible tipping point for another sharp rise in oil prices.

Containing inflation caused by supply shocks such as oil price spikes is never easy. Premature monetary tightening risks triggering stagflation — a combination of high inflation and stagnant growth. Yet some level of tightening may still be unavoidable if policymakers hope to contain inflation expectations fueled by oil market instability.

Recent remarks by Yoo Sang-dai, senior deputy governor of the Bank of Korea, were widely interpreted as signaling a possible shift toward tighter monetary policy. During a recent news conference, Yoo said the time may have come to stop cutting interest rates and consider raising them instead. The rise in long-term U.S. Treasury yields above 5 percent has added to market anxiety, raising fears of weakening investment and consumer activity.

Even if not immediate, economic actors should prepare for the possibility of higher benchmark interest rates in the second half of the year. Rising rates increase the cost of speculative investment financed through debt and raise the risk of sudden corrections in overheated asset markets.

The Kospi surged more than 6 percent Wednesday, closing above the 7,000 mark for the first time ever, only 70 days after surpassing 6,000. Yet this is hardly a moment for celebration. Margin loans in the domestic stock market — often viewed as a key indicator of debt-driven investment — have climbed to around 36 trillion won ($24.5 billion), based on an exchange rate of 1,470 won to the dollar.

Investors themselves now need to fasten their seat belts and focus on risk management.

Coordination between the government and the central bank will also become increasingly important. During his confirmation hearing, Shin Hyun-song indicated that if inflation and growth objectives conflict, price stability should take priority.

By contrast, President Lee Jae Myung recently criticized fiscal conservatives on social media for repeatedly "singing the song of austerity." His remarks were widely interpreted as dismissing criticism of the government's expansionary fiscal stance.

Many now worry that the administration's aggressive spending policies could clash with the Bank of Korea's emphasis on inflation control. Fiscal policy must therefore remain balanced and restrained so that government spending does not further destabilize prices.

This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.

This article is by Chung Yeong-gyo, Michael Lee and read by an artificial voice.

North Korea has removed all references to reunification with South Korea from its revised constitution, which now defines the regime's territory as limited to the area north of the inter-Korean armistice line and its borders with China and Russia.

The amendments, adopted during the March session of the Supreme People's Assembly (SPA) — the North's rubber-stamp parliament — also significantly expanded the constitutional authority of leader Kim Jong-un by explicitly granting him command over the regime's nuclear forces.

A new territorial clause declares that the territory of the North consists of land "bordering China and Russia to the north and the Republic of Korea to the south, as well as territorial waters and airspace established on that basis."

However, the constitution notably avoids specifying disputed areas such as the Northern Limit Line (NLL), the de facto maritime boundary in the Yellow Sea that Pyongyang has long rejected.

Kim previously described the NLL as a "ghost line with no basis in international law" in statements carried by Pyongyang's state media.

The territorial clause effectively formalizes Kim's increasingly explicit treatment of South Korea as a separate state rather than a partner in eventual reunification. At the same time, the omission of specific maritime boundaries preserves diplomatic and military flexibility.

The revised constitution further lacks references to "peaceful reunification" and "great national unity" that appeared in previous versions.

However, the constitution did not identify Seoul as Pyongyang's "primary foe," despite widespread expectations that it would do so after Kim's description of the South as "the most hostile state" in March.

North Korea first adopted its constitution in September 1948 and amended it five times before introducing its current constitution in 1972. Before the March amendments, the document had been revised 12 times.

"The North appears to have redesigned the constitution overall in an effort to project the image of a normal state," said Lee Jung-chul, a professor of political science and international relations at Seoul National University, during a briefing for the Unification Ministry press pool on Wednesday.

Seoul's Unification Minister Chung Dong-young has previously argued that South Korea should also consider accepting the North's statehood. The South Korean Constitution defines the entire Korean Peninsula as the territory of the Republic of Korea and treats the North as an entity to be absorbed through reunification.

Lee said he believes the constitutional amendments passed by Pyongyang would lay the groundwork for "peaceful coexistence" between the two Koreas.

Descriptions of the North as a "socialist state" were substantially reduced throughout the document, whose title was also changed from the "Socialist Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea" to simply the "Constitution of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea."

Also gone are many references to "imperialist aggressors" and grievances regarding past "exploitation and oppression" by foreign powers.

The revised constitution further dropped the achievements of the late regime founder Kim Il Sung and Kim Jong-il, the current leader's father.

In their place, the constitution emphasizes the "people-first principle," a governing slogan closely associated with Kim Jong-un.

The amendments further bolster Kim's control over the regime's military.

For the first time, the constitution explicitly hands command authority over North Korea's nuclear forces to the chairman of the State Affairs Commission, which is Kim's official position in the regime's hierarchy.

A separate new provision stipulates that the chairman "may delegate authority to use nuclear forces to the state nuclear command organization."

Lee said the clause likely establishes a legal foundation for delegating nuclear authority while Kim is ...

This article is by Hur Jung-yeon and read by an artificial voice.

When 34-year-old Kim Jeong-yun got married, she and her husband planned to save for three years before starting a family. Three years on, rising loan burdens, an expiring lease and an impending move have pushed those plans back.

"Children? Of course I want them. Just not right now," she said. "But we still don't feel like we have a solid enough financial foundation. And even though workplace parental leave policies are getting better, I'm still not sure I'd be able to keep my job after giving birth."

Kim's hesitation contrasts with Korea's official data, which point to a sharp rise in births.

In February, births reached 22,898 — up 13.6 percent on year, per the Ministry of Data and Statistics. That marks the highest February total since 2019, the third-largest monthly increase, or the absolute rise in births, and extends a run of on-year gains to 20 consecutive months since July 2024. The birth growth rate — the percentage increase in births — hit a record high for February since tracking began in 1981. The total fertility rate, which measures the average number of children a woman is expected to have over her lifetime, rose to 0.93, continuing an upward trend for 14 straight months.

Officials are cautiously optimistic, but experts say the recent birth uptick is temporary, driven by delayed marriages and a large cohort reaching peak childbearing age. Deeper issues like high housing costs, job insecurity, and career concerns remain unresolved, so the trend may not last.

"The real-life conditions young Koreans face, and the factors that shape their decision to have children, haven't fundamentally changed," said Lee Sang-lim, a senior researcher at Seoul National University's Population Policy Research Center. "The likelihood that the current upward trend will sustain itself over the medium to long term is not high. Now is the time for more aggressive pro-birth policies that actually make it easier for young people to have children."

What's actually driving the increase

Experts point to two structural factors that largely explain the uptick — neither of which reflects a fundamental shift in how young Koreans feel about having children.

The first is generational. Women currently in the core childbearing age bracket of 31 to 35 — born between 1991 and 1995 — belong to a temporarily larger birth cohort. Each year within that range produced roughly 330,000 to 340,000 births, making this generation larger than the ones that followed. As these women have entered their early 30s, the total number of births has risen accordingly, by simple demographic weight.

The second factor is a catch-up effect from the Covid-19 pandemic. Marriages that were delayed during the pandemic years are now taking place in larger numbers: The annual marriage count, which fell as low as 190,000 during the pandemic, recovered to 250,000 last year — returning to pre-pandemic levels. Given that most couples who have children do so within two years of marriage, this surge in marriages is now flowing through into births.

Some within government, however, argue that suffered pro-natalist policy is playing a meaningful role.

The Presidential Committee on Ageing Society and Population Policy has pointed specifically to its special loan program, which offers preferential mortgage rates to families who have recently had a child, as a contributor to housing stability among young couples.

Data shows that the total fertility rate among households in the top 30 percent income bracket rose from 0.84 in 2023 to 0.95 last year following the loan program's introduction.

Officials also cite parental leave data: Workers who took parental leave at their workplace were 11 to 12 percentage points more likely to have an additional child compared to colleagues at the same company who did not use the benefit.

"Couples who received meaningful practical support through child care policy were significantly more likely ...

This article is by Kim Kyung-hee and read by an artificial voice.

Though fewer babies are being born in Korea, the market for infant and children's products is growing as families spend more on each child, driving demand for premium goods.

The numbers reflect the trend in which parents and relatives all open their wallets for a single child, often described as a "gold kid" or "10-pocket," referring to the 10 different adults who empty their pockets for them — similar to the proverb "it takes a village to raise a child."

Retailers are expanding their baby and kids sections to match that demand, but the shift is also adding to concerns that the cost of raising children is becoming even harder to bear.

"I chose a famous brand even though it was expensive because I wanted to give the best possible gift," said Kim, who bought a crib with a canopy from a well-known Nordic brand at a department store for a newborn niece earlier this year, spending 2 million won ($1,370). The item was so popular that Kim had to wait about a month to get it.

"Since this is the first baby born in our family, it feels like everyone is willing to spend generously," Kim added.

And it's not just the parents. A grandparent surnamed Pi, for instance, spent 300,000 won on gifts for two granddaughters, ages 7 and 3, for Children's Day on Tuesday.

"My son and his wife give me 1 million won in allowance every month, and I spend 300,000 of that on clothes and snacks for my granddaughters," Pi said. "When I was raising my own children, life was so hard that I could not do much for them, but now that I am in a more comfortable position, I want to make sure that my grandchildren never go without."

The industry is thriving thanks to this trend.

Online shopping transaction value for baby and children's products, such as diapers and cribs, reached 1.4 trillion won in the first quarter, up 8.3 percent from the 1.29 trillion recorded a year earlier, according to data from the Ministry of Data and Statistics on Monday.

For all of last year, the online market for baby and children's products came to 5.48 trillion won, up 3.6 percent from the previous year. Since 2017, when the ministry reorganized the statistical series, the market has grown 61.8 percent from 3.39 trillion won. After dipping slightly in 2024, transaction value rose again last year to the highest level since the series began in 2001.

The figures are seen as a useful indicator of the broader market, as shopping has been steadily shifting from stores to online platforms, and dual-income families with children tend to rely even more heavily on online purchases. The annual number of births fell from around 360,000 in 2017 to the 250,000 range last year, but the premium segment of the baby and children's goods market has continued to expand.

Department store sales show the same pattern. Sales of imported children's products, including luxury items, rose 21.5 percent on year in the first quarter at Shinsegae Department Store, more than double the 10 percent growth rate for general children's goods. Lotte Department Store also saw sales in its kids category rise 20 percent over the same period.

Retailers are responding by expanding specialty stores and promotions for infants and children.

Fashion platform Musinsa opened its first standalone kids store in Magok, western Seoul, earlier this year. After strengthening its lineup of kids' products, the company said that its offline sales of baby and children's clothing increased 6.7 times last year compared to a year earlier.

The broader industry built around gold kids is expected to keep growing. Beyond the premiumization of baby products, new business opportunities are emerging across the sector, including cafes for kids, babysitting services and children's insurance. Market researcher PitchBook estimated that Korea's kids industry was worth $43.76 billion last year, more than double the $21 billion recorded in 2012.

The concern is that this trend could worsen t...